Thursday, September 1, 2011

Your Beloved Pet...

By now I am sure you have all read the news about Theresa's little Pebbles. :( I never dreamed when I was drawing the "Basket Buddies" set (9 months ago!) I'd need a pet sympathy card so soon after we released it, but I'm really glad to have it, as I worked on the card I thought all about Theresa' story about Pebbles, as well as other pets my friends and family and I have loved and lost over over the years, and it's so much more personal than sending a card with other images or sentiment intended for "humans".
I copied the photo she posted to her blog of Pebbles, I assume it's a favorite (since I took it for the purpose of sending this to Theresa only, I'm hoping it was okay to lift it!) I cropped it into an oval and softened the edges with my photo editing program, then printed it on Pure Luxury Ivory. I put a layer of vellum over it (I couldn't find anyway to attach it that I liked from the front, brads took away from the portrait) by folding the top and securing it to the back with Scor-Tape. I stamped the little paw and sentiment at the bottom.

Then I made a little Best Friend tag for the bottom. (You may have noticed I provided a frame image almost identical to this silver one in the set, which is a nice option for different colors or if you don't have any metal tags, but I had a couple left in my stash.) You can make the greeting say "Best Friend" by inking with a marker and omitting the "s"; being able to make the "Best Friends" singular or plural is very nice for when you want to caption a single portrait OR a picture of two pets together or a pet and their owner. Sentiment is stamped on Tan Leather and attached with brads to hold the vellum down. Finally I mounted it all on Pure Luxury Bubblegum Pink to match that cute little bandana Pebbles is wearing and Black Onyx. I lined the inside with Ivory to match the front so I could write my letter.

If you don't have a photo of that pet for a pet sympathy, you can use just the paw print, pet silhouette (with or without the little cloud) or stamp just the line art image behind the vellum. Whatever you choose, the card is sure to be appreciated and you'll have a good experience making it, thinking about all the wonderful things animals add to our lives.

13 comments:

  1. Wow, that is so special, Melanie. Theresa will cherish it.

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  2. Sweet and thoughtful card. Theresa will be so touched.

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  3. What a sweet card to sdend to Theresa and her family!

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  4. This is the sweetest thing ever, it almost makes me cry so I can only imagine what it will do to the people who thought so much of their dog.

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  5. What a wonderful idea, Melanie. You are so sweet. Theresa is going to cherish this! It certainly brought tears to this old woman's eyes!!! Hugs...

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  6. Teresa is going to LOVE this card. I could feel her pain reading her blog yesterday, I felt so bad for her. I understand the pain of losing a beloved pet since they truly are your best friend. She is very lucky to have so many people truly care for her but after very luckily meeting Teresa once she deserves good friends, Teresa is a wonderful artist and person!
    Patricia
    the PaperTemptress

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  7. Melanie,you are so thoughtful and kind, a beautiful tribute to Theresa's beloved pet. She will love it!!!! Thanks friend!!

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  8. What a wonderful heart felt card and think of how the owner/owners will feel when recieving this warm card.I am very impressed.Thank you so much for sharing. We lost our dog almost 3 yrs ago 2 days before Halloween and this would have warmed my heart!!! Nicely done.

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  9. Melanie what a wonderful card for Theresa. Pebbles was the sweetest dog and will be missed by all. It was a complete shock! I am sure that Theresa will be touch by your thoughtfulness.
    Thank you for being such a great friend to Theresa.

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  10. Beautifully done Melanie! A very special tribute.

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  11. What a sweet card. I know this will be a special remembrance for her to keep always.

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  12. Melanie, thank you so much for this beautiful card. It came in the mail today and I will treasure it always. I put it in my craft room, right next to Pebbles' favorite stuffed hedgehog. Thanks for understanding what she meant to me. Hugs.

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  13. Beautiful card, Mel -- what a great idea to make it out of a photo of T's dog ... so sweet.

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